Image forming apparatus for sorting and discharging printed sheets into mail bins

ABSTRACT

An image forming apparatus includes a printer section for printing an image on a sheet and a finisher having a plurality of mail bins. The image forming apparatus discharges print, which is addressed to a specified user and outputted from the printer section, onto the mail bin assigned to the user among the plurality of mail bins, facilitating mail bin assignment to allow labor of network management to be saved. There is provided a card reading device for reading an ID card for identifying a user. There is also provided assigning means that identifies the user from information read by the card reading device when the ID card is inserted into the card reading device and that assigns a mail bin to the user when no mail bin has been assigned to the user.

This application is based on application No. H11-232662 filed in Japan,the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and inparticular, to an image forming apparatus that has a printer section forprinting an image on a sheet and a finisher having a plurality of mailbins and that sorts and discharges printed sheets into the mail bins.

In general, according to this type of image forming apparatus, each mailbin is preparatorily assigned to each user by operating an operationpanel mounted on a main body of the image forming apparatus or byoperating a utility at a terminal on a network. Upon receiving a printjob from a specified user through the network, the image is printed on asheet in the printer section, and the printed sheet is discharged ontothe mail bin assigned to the user among a plurality of mail bins.

However, in the case that the image forming apparatus is used in anoffice or the like, then the mail bin assignment is to be redone byoperating the operation panel mounted on the image forming apparatusmain body or by operating the utility at the network terminal whenorganizational changes or personnel changes occur in the relevant officeor the like. This leads to an disadvantage that management of thenetwork becomes troublesome.

Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to provide an imageforming apparatus capable of saving a labor of network management byfacilitating mail bin assignment. It is a further object to provide animage forming apparatus that allows a greater number of users tosmoothly use mail bins of the image forming apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present inventionprovides an image forming apparatus that includes a printer section forprinting an image on a sheet and a finisher having a plurality of mailbins and that discharges print, which are addressed to a specified userand outputted from the printer section, onto the mail bin assigned tothe user among the plurality of mail bins. The image forming apparatusfurther includes a card reading device for reading an ID from an ID cardfor identifying the user and assigning means for assigning a mail bin tothe user who is identified from ID information read by the card readingdevice.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the assigningmeans identifies the user from the ID information read by the cardreading device and assigns a mail bin to the user. As a result, printthat is outputted from the printer section and addressed to the user isdischarged onto the mail bin assigned to the user. This arrangementobviates need for redoing the mail bin assignment by operating anoperation panel mounted on a main body of the image forming apparatus orby operating a utility at a network terminal when organizational changesor personnel changes occur in an office or the like where this imageforming apparatus is used. As a result, labor of network management canbe saved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood-from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a printeraccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the above printer;

FIG. 3 is a chart showing an example of a mail bin assigning processflow in the above printer;

FIG. 4 is a chart showing a print job processing flow in the aboveprinter;

FIG. 5 is a chart showing an example of an assigning process flow inassigning each mail bin to a plurality of users in the above printer;

FIG. 6 is a chart showing another assigning process flow in assigningeach mail bin to a plurality of users in the above printer;

FIG. 7 is a chart showing a mail bin assigning process flow on theassumption that an mail bin assignment is compulsorily canceled in theabove printer;

FIG. 8 is a chart showing a mail bin assignment canceling process flowin the above printer; and

FIG. 9 is a chart showing a print job processing flow on the assumptionthat the mail bin assignment is compulsorily canceled in the aboveprinter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described in detail below on the basis ofembodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an external appearance of a printer 1 according to oneembodiment of the present invention, the printer 1 being connected to anetwork 10. This printer 1 includes a main body 3 and a finisher 106.The main body 3 has a built-in print engine for outputting print onsheets and a standard sheet discharge tray 110 formed in its upperportion. The finisher 106 has a plurality of mail bins 109A, 109B, . . ., 109E that protrude above the standard sheet discharge tray 110. Thefinisher 106 sorts and discharges the printed sheets onto the standardsheet discharge tray 110 or the mail bins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E. Acard reading device 120 is mounted on a side surface of the finisher 106so as to read an ID card for identifying a user.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the printer 1. This printer 1 isconstructed of a print-processing section 104, a print engine 105, asheet supply cassette 107, the above-mentioned finisher 106, a networkprocessing section 101, a storage section 103 and a response processingsection. 102. The print processing section 104 executes a controlprocess of the whole printer. The print engine 105 outputs print onsheets. The sheet supply cassette 107 contains sheets having a specifiedsize. The network processing section 101 executes control of datatransfer between the network 10 and the printer 1. The storage section103 stores information of the presence or absence and the size of asheet contained in the sheet supply cassette 107, data processingresolution, manageable page-description language and so on. The responseprocessing section 102 transmits information, which is stored in thestorage section 103 according to an inquiry request from a terminal suchas personal computer (not shown) connected to the network 10, to theterminal.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mail bins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E arerespectively assigned to users by the print processing section 104 thatoperates as assigning means. Specifically, the print processing section104 first determines whether or not an ID card is inserted in the cardreading device 120 (S1) and identifies a user of the ID card from theinformation read by the card reading device 120 when the ID card isinserted in the card reading device 120 (S2). Then, it is determinedwhether or not the user is a new user, i.e., whether or not a mail binhas already been assigned to the user (S3). If the user is a new user,it is determined whether or not there is a mail bin that has not yetbeen assigned (this bin being referred to as an “empty mail bin”hereinafter) among the mail bins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E (S4). If thereis an empty mail bin, then the empty mail bin is assigned to the user(S5). In this example, if the user is not a new user, then another mailbin is not assigned to the new user. Even if there is no empty mail bin,a plurality of users do not use one mail bin in common.

When a user dispatches a print job to the printer 1 from a terminal (notshown) connected to the network 10 so as to output print on sheets anddischarge the sheets onto a mail bin assigned to the user, then aprocess as shown in FIG. 4 is executed. First, the print processingsection 104 determines whether or not there is data received through thenetwork 10, i.e., whether or not the network processing section 101 hasreceived a print job (S11). If the network processing section 101 hasreceived the print job, then the network processing section 101 obtainsinformation of a sender included in the received data i.e. informationof a new user who dispatches a print job to the printer 1 from theterminal (S12). Subsequently, the sender is compared with the users towhom the mail bins have already been assigned (S13), and it isdetermined whether or not there is a mail bin to be assigned-to thesender (S14). If there is the mail bin to be assigned to the sender, theprint processing section 104 sends the finisher 106 instructions ofselecting the mail bin to be-assigned to the sender. On the other hand,the print engine 105 takes out sheets one by one from the sheet supplycassette 107, outputs print on each sheet and feeds the printed sheetsinto the finisher 106. The finisher 106, discharges the printed sheetsonto the mail bin assigned to the sender according to the aboveinstructions from the print processing section 104 (S15). If there is nomail bin assigned to the sender (S14), the printed sheets are dischargedonto the standard sheet discharge tray 110 (S16).

In the case of the above arrangement, even when a organizational changeor a personnel change occurs in an office or the like, it is notnecessary to redo the mail bin assignment by operating an operationpanel on the main body 3 of the image forming apparatus or by operatingthe utility at the terminal of the network 10, facilitating mail binassignment. As a result, the labor of network management can be saved.

If the number of users is greater than the number of mail bins and thereis no empty mail bin, then sharing of the mail bins is required to bepermitted. FIG. 5 shows an example of a flow of assigning each mail binto a plurality of users in the above-mentioned case. It is assumed thatthe print processing section 104 is consistently monitoring thefrequency in use of the mail bins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E. First, theprint processing section 104 determines whether or not an ID card isinserted into the card reading device 120 (S21) and identifies a user ofthe ID card from the information read by the card reading device 120when an ID card is inserted into the card reading device 120 (S22).Then, it is determined whether or not the user is a new user, i.e.,whether or not a mail bin has already been assigned to the user (S23).If the user is a new user, then a mail bin which is assigned to thesmallest number of users is retrieved from among the plurality of mailbins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E (S24). If there are a plurality of mailbins which each are assigned to the smallest number of users (S25), thenthe mail bin that was first assigned to the smallest number of users isretrieved (S26) to be selected and assigned to the above-mentioned user(S27). Further, the date and time of assignment is updated (S28).

When a mail bin which was first assigned to the smallest number of usersis selected and assigned to a new user as stated above, the number ofusers in a specified mail bin is does not excessively increase,consequently averaging the number of users in each mail bin. Therefore,a greater number of users can smoothly use the mail bins. Furthermore,if there are a plurality of mail bins which each are assigned to thesmallest number of users, then the mail bin that first reached thesmallest number of users is selected. Therefore, the number of users ina certain mail bin does not rapidly increase, and this can avoidconfusion ascribed to the increase in the number of users in each mailbin.

FIG. 6 shows an example of another flow of assigning each mail bin to aplurality of users. It is assumed that the print processing section 104is consistently monitoring the frequency in use of the mail bins 109A,109B, . . . , 109E, in the same manner as the above-mentioned example.First, the print processing section 104 determines whether or not an IDcard is inserted into the card reading device 120 (S31) and identifies auser of the ID card from the information read by the card reading device120 when the ID card is inserted into the card reading device 120 (S32).Then, it is determined whether or not the user is a new user, i.e.,whether or not a mail bin has already been assigned to the user (S33).If the user is a new user, a mail bin of the smallest number of printsheets discharged per unit time is retrieved from among the plurality ofmail bins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E (S34), and the mail bin is selectedand assigned to the above-mentioned user (S35).

If the mail bin having the smallest number of print sheets dischargedper unit time is thus selected, then, with relation to the mail binsused with a comparatively high frequency, the increase in the number ofusers is restricted, and this can avoid confusion ascribed to theincrease in the number of users in the mail bins.

If the number of users is greater than the number of mail bins andtherefore each mail bin is assigned to a plurality of users, then inaddition to the above method there can be considered a method forcarrying out assignment of each mail bin to users so as not to overlaphis printout time zones with the other ones, by comparing a printouttime zone in which the user who is about to undergo mail bin assignmentprincipally puts printout into practice with a printout time zone inwhich users who have already undergone mail bin assignment put printoutinto practice.

FIG. 7, FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show flows including a process forcompulsorily canceling the mail bin assignment in order to avoidconfusion in assignment when the number of users is greater than thenumber of mail bins. It is assumed that the print processing section 104operating as canceling means has a built-in assignment canceling timerin which a count time of 30 minutes has been preparatorily set incorrespondence with each mail bin in order to compulsorily cancel themail bin assignment.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the mail bin assignment stage, the printprocessing section 104 first determines whether or not an ID card isinserted into the card reading device 120 (S41) and identifies a user ofthe ID card from the information read by the card reading device 120when an ID card is inserted into the card reading device 120 (S42).Then, it is determined whether or not the user is a new user, i.e.,whether or not a mail bin has already been assigned to the user (S43).If the user is a new user, then it is determined whether or not there isan empty mail bin among the mail bins 109A, 109B, . . . , 109E (S44). Ifthere is an empty mail bin, then the empty mail bin is assigned to thenew user (S45). Then, at the instant when the mail bin is assigned, thebuilt-in assignment canceling timer that belongs to the print processingsection 104 and used for the mail bin starts countdown (S46). In thisexample, if the user is not a new user, then no other mail bin isassigned to the user. Also, even if there is no empty mail bin, one mailbin is not assigned to a plurality of users.

When the user dispatches a print job to the printer 1 from a terminal(not shown) connected to the network 10 so as to output print to themail bin assigned to the user himself or herself during the countdown ofthis built-in assignment canceling timer, a process as shown in FIG. 9is-executed. First, the print processing section 104 determines whetheror not there is received data through the network 10, i.e., whether ornot the network processing section 101 has received a print job (S61).If the network processing section 101 has received a print job, theninformation representing the sender included in the received data isobtained (S62). Subsequently, the sender is compared with the users towhom the mail bins have already been assigned (S63), and it isdetermined whether or not there is a mail bin assigned to the sender(S64). If there is a mail bin assigned to the sender, then the printprocessing section 104 sends to the finisher 106 an instruction toselect the mail bin assigned to the sender. On the other hand, the printengine 105 takes out sheets one by one from the sheet supply cassette107, outputs print on each sheet and feeds the printed sheet into thefinisher 106. The finisher 106 discharges the printed sheet onto themail bin assigned to the sender according to the above instruction fromthe print processing section 104 (S65). Then, the countdown of theassignment canceling timer of the mail bin is restarted (S66). If thereis no mail bin assigned to the sender (S64), then the printed sheets aredischarged onto the standard sheet discharge tray 110 (S66).

From the instant when a mail bin is assigned to a user or from theinstant when reception of a final print-job from the user is completed,as shown in FIG. 8, the assignment canceling timer of each mail bin iscounted down (S51). Then, it is determined whether or not there is amail bin of which the timer value becomes zero (S52). If there is a mailbin of which the timer value becomes zero, then the assignment of themail bin is canceled (S53). That is, if no print job is received from aspecified user to whom a certain mail bin has been assigned for aspecified period (30 minutes in this example), then the assignment ofthe mail bin to the user is canceled. By this operation, only the userwho actually uses the mail bin can maintain the assignment of the mailbin, while the assignment of the mail bin is canceled for the user whodoes not use the assigned mail bin for a specified period. Therefore, inthe case where the number of the users is greater than the number of themail bins or in a similar case, a greater number of users can smoothlyuse the mail bins. Time of the assignment canceling timer is set to 30minutes because it is highly possible that the user who once obtainsprint would correct the contents through visual check and put printoutput into practice again, the time necessary for the correcting workbeing empirically presumed to be 30 minutes. Also, it is highly possiblethat the user would not subsequently use the printer for a time.

Next, the print processing section 104 obtains the current timereferring to a built-in clock (S54), and after 10 p.m. every day (S55),it cancels the assignment of all the mail bins (S56). Therefore, themail bin assignment set during normal working hours of the day isinfallibly canceled. Therefore, in the case where the number of users isgreater than the number of mail bins, a greater number of users cansmoothly use the mail bins.

This kind of canceling process can also be applied to the case whereeach mail bin is assigned to a plurality of users.

It is acceptable to cancel a mail bin assignment to a user when an IDcard of the user is pulled out of the card reading device 120. In theabove case, a mail bin is assigned to the user only when the userinserts the ID card into the card reading device 120, i.e., only whenthe user actually needs the mail bin. After the ID card is pulled out,the mail bin is regarded as unnecessary and the assignment of the mailbin is canceled. Further, it is also acceptable to cancel the assignmentof a mail bin to a user when the user inserts again an ID card of theuser into the card reading device 120 after the completion of a printjob instead of the time when the ID card is pulled out of the cardreading device 120.

Although the user dispatches a print job to the printer 1 from theterminal connected to the network 10 so as to output print to the mailbin assigned to the user himself or herself in the present embodiment,the present invention is of course not limited to this. Another sendermay dispatch a print job to the printer 1 from a terminal connected tothe network 10 so as to output print to the mail bin assigned to acertain user.

The present invention can be broadly applied to not only the so-calledprinter but also apparatuses such as a copying machine and a facsimileapparatus, which sort and discharge printed sheets into a plurality ofmail bins.

As is apparent from the above, according to the image forming apparatusof the present invention, the assigning means identifies the user fromthe ID information read by the card reading device and assigns a mailbin to the user. As a result, the print that is outputted from theprinter section and addressed to the user is discharged onto the mailbin assigned to the user. This facilitates the mail bin assignment andallows the saving of labor of network management.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in-the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an imageforming section for forming an image on a heet; a plurality of bins; acard reading device for reading information from an ID card; assigningmeans for assigning a bin to a user corresponding to the informationread by the card reading device; and discharging means for dischargingthe sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming section intothe bin assigned by the assigning means.
 2. An image forming apparatusas claimed in claim 1, wherein the assigning means determines whether ornot a bin has already been assigned to the user corresponding to theinformation read by the card reading device.
 3. An image formingapparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the assigning means isconfigured to select a bin which is assigned to a smallest number ofusers from among the plurality of bins when no bin has yet been assignedto the user corresponding to the information read by the card readingdevice, to assign the bin to the user.
 4. An image forming apparatus asclaimed in claim 3, wherein the assigning means is configured to selecta bin that first reaches the smallest number of users when there are aplurality of bins which each are assigned to the smallest number ofusers, to assign the bin to the user.
 5. An image forming apparatus asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the assigning means is configured to selecta bin receiving a smallest number of sheets discharged per unit time, toassign the bin to the user.
 6. An image forming apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising: canceling means for canceling assignment ofa certain bin to a specified user when a print job from the specifieduser to whom the certain bin has been assigned is not received for afixed time.
 7. An image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising: canceling means for canceling assignment of all bins to allusers at an appointed time.
 8. An image forming apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising: canceling means for canceling assignment ofthe bin to the user when the ID card of the user is pulled out of thecard reading device.
 9. An image forming apparatus as claimed in claim1, wherein the assigning means is configured to select an empty bin thathas not yet been assigned to assign the empty bin to the user.
 10. Animage forming apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the assigningmeans is configured to select a specified sheet container when no emptybin exists to assign the specified sheet container to the user.
 11. Asheet container unit that sorts inputted sheets into a plurality of binsand contains the inputted sheets, comprising: card reading device forreading information from an ID card; assigning means for assigning a binto a user corresponding to the information read by the card readingdevice; and discharging means for discharging an inputted sheet into thebin assigned by the assigning means.
 12. A sheet container unit asclaimed in claim 11, wherein the assigning means determines whether ornot a bin has already been assigned to the user corresponding to theinformation read by the card reading device.
 13. A sheet container unitas claimed in claim 12, wherein the assigning means is configured toselect a bin which is assigned to a smallest number of users from amongthe plurality of bins when no bin has yet been assigned to the usercorresponding to the information read by the card reading device, toassign the bin to the user.
 14. A sheet container unit as claimed inclaim 13, wherein the assigning means is configured to select a bin thatfirst reaches the smallest number of users when there are a plurality ofbins which each are assigned to the smallest number of users, to assignthe bin to the user.
 15. A sheet container unit as claimed in claim 11,wherein the assigning means is configured to select a bin receiving asmallest number of sheets discharged per unit time, to assign the bin tothe user.
 16. A sheet container unit as claimed in claim 11, furthercomprising: canceling means for canceling assignment of a certain bin toa specified user when a print job from the specified user to whom thecertain bin has been assigned is not received for a fixed time.
 17. Asheet container unit as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:canceling means for canceling assignment of all bins to all users at anappointed time.
 18. A sheet container unit as claimed in claim 11,further comprising: canceling means for canceling assignment of the binto the user when the ID card of the user is pulled out of the cardreading device.
 19. A sheet container unit as claimed in claim 11,wherein the assigning means is configured to select an empty bin toassign the empty bin to the user.
 20. A sheet container unit as claimedin claim 19, wherein the assigning means is configured to select aspecified sheet container when no empty bin exists to assign thespecified sheet container to the user.